


three generations, two dangers, and a last chance

by writerdragonfly



Series: [keep us together] [8]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Dad!Barry Allen, Dad!Leonard Snart, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Families of Choice, Family Relationships - Freeform, Family of Rogues AU, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, shifting pov
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2018-05-20 17:32:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6018634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerdragonfly/pseuds/writerdragonfly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Knowing that good things can't last forever doesn't make them any easier to give up.</p><p>Or, Lisa has an unexpected visitor and is forced to make a choice to protect her family. Things do not get better from there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nora I, gem which cannot be stolen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragdragdragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragdragdragon/gifts), [LiselleVelvet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiselleVelvet/gifts), [MissSugarPlum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSugarPlum/gifts).



> I know, it's been terribly long! But never fear, Noraverse has returned with this Family of Rogues!AU, which has been in the planning since a bandit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Theme Song: [Gem Which Cannot Be Stolen ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQn7ZVxREpk)\- Yasunori Mitsuda, Xenogears OST.

 

 

Things have been going well with their ever growing family. It’s inevitable that something happens.

 

Nora knows this. She _expects_ this. But somehow, she’s still surprised when it _does_.

 

-x-

 

Sometimes when her chest gets tight and she misses her mom more than anything in the world, she calls Lisa and asks to spend the day with her.

 

It’s not that Lisa is the most like her mother, an acceptable substitute. ( _There isn’t an acceptable substitute_.) Personality wise, she thinks her mother was probably more like an amalgam of Iris and Caitlin if anything.

 

No, it’s more that Lisa is the least like her, except for one thing.

 

Lisa’s eyes remind her of her mother’s eyes. They remind her of cuddling with bedtime stories, her mother pushing back her hair, her bangs out of her eyes. They remind her of feeling safe and warm, and fiercely protected.

 

So maybe Lisa _does_ remind her of her mother the most, just in a different way.

 

The reasons why don’t really matter, just that when she wants her mom for no reason at all, being with Lisa helps.

 

So when she calls her Auntie Lise that morning, she knows Lisa will come. That Lisa will be there for her, in her bossy, sarcastic way.

 

And she is. She spends the afternoon with Lisa, wrapped up in their winter gear. They go ice skating in the morning, and seeing Lisa on skates is always one of the most breathtaking things Nora’s ever seen. It’s like she belongs on the ice, like she was meant for it.

 

Nora likes the way Lisa smiles to herself when she’s doing it, like good memories and happiness.

 

Sometimes she thinks that Lisa doesn’t have a lot of good memories from when she was younger.

 

They’re walking back to Lisa’s apartment with bags of italian takeout when Lisa stops suddenly, and Nora sees the thick fingers of a man’s hand on her arm.

 

And Nora doesn’t think she’s ever seen Lisa look scared before, but Lisa _is_ scared now.

 

“Lisa, sweetheart. Aren’t you going to introduce us?” the man says, and the hairs on the back of Nora’s neck stand on end.

 

“Daddy,” Lisa chokes out, “...this is Nora. I’m watching her as a favor to her mom.”

 

The pit of Nora’s stomach drops at her words.

 

“Why don’t you call her mom, have her pick her up. We have something to... _discuss_.”

 

Lisa nods, fumbles in her pocket for her cell phone.

 

Nora slips her phone to silent without taking it out of her pocket, hoping the man--Lisa’s father?--doesn’t notice.

 

“Hey, Shawna. Something’s come up and I need you to pick up Nora a little early. Do you mind?” Lisa says into the phone. Nora doesn’t know who Shawna is, but if Lisa’s trusting her... then Nora has to trust her too, doesn’t she?

 

“Yeah, we’ll be back at the apartment. See you soon,” Lisa finishes the call, and before she can put her phone back, the man takes it from her, looks through the contacts.

 

He makes a sighing sound, “Got your no good brother in here, good. Now, let’s check the call log.”

 

“Can we go inside, Lisa? I’m cold,” Nora whines deliberately, crossing her arms across her chest.

 

“This girl calls you quite a bit, doesn’t she?”

 

“Duh, my mom works all the time. You think I have time to talk to her about my period?” Nora says, trying not to shake. Lisa’s so _afraid_ , and Nora knows that something bad is going to happen. She can feel it.

 

“Give me your cell phone, Nora,” Lisa’s dad says, and Nora hopes the man doesn’t know how to hack them as she hands it over.

 

She also hopes her dad or Len don’t try to call her on it.

 

“Why don’t we go inside now, girls,” he says, and Nora hides her shaking hands in her coat pockets.

 

-x-

 

Nora settles into the big chair in Lisa’s living room, the box of garlic knots in her lap. She picks at one of them with her fingers, forcing herself to eat little bites of bread every time Lisa’s dad looks her direction.

 

“You haven’t been a very good daughter lately, Lisa,” the man is saying, and Nora is trying her best to listen to what he’s saying without it being obvious, “Didn’t even answer my calls when I got out, did you?”

 

Someone finally knocks on the door, and Nora jumps up to answer it before Lisa or the man can say anything.

 

“Mom! Can we take these with us?” she says, hugging the slender woman on the other side without hesitating.

 

“I think that’s up to Lisa, Nor,” the woman, presumably Shawna, says, not hesitating to jump in on the con, “Lise, are you still going to be able to watch her tomorrow night during my shift?”

 

“I...” Lisa starts, her eyes flicking back to her dad, “Not sure. I’ll call you tomorrow afternoon if I’m free.”

 

Lisa’s dad nods, a little grin on his face that makes Nora even more afraid than before.

 

“Why don’t you take the box of pasta with you too, Nora, and don’t forget your school bag,” Lisa says to her then, nodding toward the wall where a plain yellow backpack sits.

 

Nora doesn’t know what’s inside it, but if Lisa wants it out of her apartment, it must be important.

 

She slides the backpack on--it’s heavier than she expected, but she tries not to let that show--and takes the foil pan of spaghetti from Lisa with a smile.

 

“Thank you for watching her, Lisa. And for supper,” Shawna says, leading Nora out.

 

Nora doesn’t remember the man still has her cell phone until they’re almost outside of the building.

 

“Do you have a cell phone I can use, Miss?” Nora asks her as they reach the front door.

 

“Not here, doll, just be patient,” Shawna says, and the way the woman looks around like she’s expecting to be attacked at any moment makes Nora almost as terrified as she’d been once she saw Lisa’s face at her father’s arrival.

 

They walk a couple blocks before Shawna pushes open the door to a coffee shop and nudges her inside.

 

“What’s your actual mom’s number, Nora?” Shawna asks, pulling a cell phone out of her pocket.

 

“My mom’s dead,” Nora blurts, her hands shaking. She doesn’t _know_ this person, other than the fact that Lisa must trust her. At least, perhaps, that she trusts this woman more than she trusts her father.

 

“You know your dad’s number then, sweetie?”

 

Nora rattles off her dad's number, barely able to get the last digit out before she starts to cry.

 


	2. Iris I, my immortal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving my songs to the beginning notes so you can play them as you read if you like--I've already moved the song from chapter one to the beginning notes. With this chapter, I actually reminded myself of the song as I wrote somehow, as opposed to having a song picked out ahead of time. Anyway! Please enjoy!
> 
> Chapter Theme Song: [My Immortal ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5anLPw0Efmo)\- Evanescence

Iris had known about her mother for awhile. Her father had ended up telling her the entire story when Nora had come into their lives, but she had still been too upset to do anything about it then. With time, the anger with her father had lessened, but her anger with her mother had not.

 

When she got the news that she was expecting, that she was about to become a mother herself? It was such an incredible feeling, so exciting. Her and Barry, they were growing up. They were starting families, finding themselves and where they fit.

 

And then her father let her know that her mother was back in town, demanding to see her.

 

She didn't want to see the woman who had chosen drugs over her, who had walked out without a fight. She didn't want her mother to be in her child’s life.

 

But Iris knew she'd never forgive herself if she didn't do her damnedest to do what she would want her children to do, if she didn’t make the attempt at forgiving.

 

So she told her dad she'd meet with her mother. At her father’s house, with Eddie a room away.

 

With her mother due in a couple minutes, Iris takes that time to rearrange the family photos in the living room. She displays the photo that Heatwave had taken of them during Thanksgiving in the front, the whole lot of them pressed against each other in the living room.

 

The thing is, Iris wasn't stupid. She'd agreed to see her, and then she went on a research-bender and scoured for as much information about her mother as she could.

 

There wasn't much there, after she left Iris behind. There wasn't much at all, as far as she could see. A couple arrests over the years, only one of which was in Central City.

 

And there was a birth certificate for a boy her mother must have been pregnant with when she left. A kid her father didn't know existed but was surely his.

 

She's not sure if knowing that is worse, or not knowing what happened to the baby she was pregnant with not long after that.

 

Iris hadn't found a birth certificate for the baby she would have given birth to within weeks of her release from a jail in Idaho sixteen years ago. Iris could have more siblings out there, other than Wallace West, who’s Keystone City address she’d found only this morning.

 

She might, probably did. Had, at some point, her mind supplies. Because she _doesn’t_ know if that second baby made it.

 

Iris thinks that maybe, she might be able to forgive her mom for leaving. But what she did to her dad, with Wallace? What she did to her brother? She's not sure she can forgive that.

 

So Iris rearranges the photos in the living room, and when she hears the knock on the door, she has to take a couple deep breaths, read the reassuring texts Eddie sends her, and then she can finally make herself answer it.

 

Her mother looks the same as she remembers, though older and much thinner. Her mother had never been heavy, but now she looks almost hollowed out. Sickly.

 

Iris wonders how long she's been this way, if it’s due to years of drug use, but she doesn't ask.

 

“Hi,” Iris says, “You must be Francine.”

 

“Not Mom?”

 

“You really think you deserve to be called that?” Iris snaps out angrily.

 

“No... I suppose not. I... You can call me Cece, if... If you want.”

 

“Why did you want to see me? It's been what, twenty years? Why now?” Iris asks, and she has to keep a hand fisted in order to stop herself from saying a barrage of angry, betrayed things.

 

“I always wanted to come back, your dad said--”

 

“Bullshit, you could have come back anytime.  You could have tried. Instead you ran off with your tail--”

 

“Your father didn't give me a choice, he's the one who told me to leave!”

 

“And you're the one who stayed _gone_ ,” Iris snarls, “Even though you were pregnant.”

 

“How...?”

 

“I'm a reporter, Cece. You think I can't figure things out?”

 

“Oh, baby, that's not what I--”

 

“ _Don't call me that._ What do you want?”

 

“I... I'm sick... Dying...” Cece says and Iris can honestly say she hadn't expected that. It's obvious, mostly, once she puts the pieces together. Her return, demand to see her, the way she looks.

 

“And you wanted to say goodbye?” Iris asks, softer.

 

“There's... There's a chance your bone marrow might...”

 

“Are you... You're serious! You're seriously going to ask me that?! What is wrong with you?!”

 

Eddie is at her side suddenly, an arm around her waist. Iris leans into the touch, places a hand over his.

 

“Oh, baby, I just want some more time with you,” Cece cries, and Iris shakes her head.

 

“I don't believe you...” Iris starts, blinking back tears that are angry and hopelessly sad, “but even if I did, I wouldn't give you bone marrow. It's not worth the risk.”

 

“Iris?” Eddie says softly, and Iris wants to do nothing more than cry into his chest until she's out of tears.

 

“Not worth the risk? I'm your mother!”

 

“No, you're the woman who used to be. And frankly, my baby is more important to me than you ever could be.”

 

-x-

 

Once Cece leaves, Iris locks the door behind her. She waits, takes three deep breaths, and then she walks back over to her fiancée and pulls him tightly against her. It doesn't take long before she starts to sob against his shirt.

 

-x-

 

She calls her dad once she's done crying, tells him that her mother is gone.

 

“Are you okay, Iris?”

 

“No, I'm... I'm really not. Eddie and I are staying tonight. If, if that's okay.”

 

-x-

 

Joe takes the news of his ex-wife’s illness better than she'd expected. Perhaps it's because she hasn't been his wife in a long time. Iris doesn't know.

 

He doesn't the news of her brother as well though. He cries, and it's all Iris can do not to start crying again right with him.

 

“I found him,” Iris says, “In Keystone City. I don't... I didn't ask her what he knew about us, but maybe we should go see him sometime?”

 

-x-

 

They're just settling into delivery Chinese when there's a loud pounding knock on the door. Iris watches as Eddie answers it, sees the wild eyed look on Leonard Snart’s face in the doorway.

 

“I need someone to watch Michael,” he says quickly, “Lisa’s in trouble and Nora--”

 

Eddie interrupts him by taking the baby right out of his arms, “We got him, go.”

 

Iris feels the lingering panic from the stress of the afternoon ignite in the pit of her stomach.

 

Something is very wrong, and she's not entirely sure they're going to make it out unscathed.


	3. Barry I, calm before the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Theme Song: [Calm Before the Storm ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYXTDi4ntG0)\- Masashi Hamauzu, Final Fantasy Dirge of Cerberus OST

It's a fairly quiet afternoon, all things considered. He's on call as the Flash, but he always is. Len is taking a much needed nap with Michael, but Barry is wired. He's awake and aware, and, there's nothing wrong. But even though cuddling up with Len and Michael sounds amazing, he feels like there's something he needs to be doing. That something is about to happen.

 

He spends the hour or so after Lisa texts him--as requested, to say that her and Nora just left the skating rink and are taking a long walk around the city--texting Cisco pitiful attempts at puns and asking him if there's anything remotely Flash worthy going on.

 

He's pretty sure Cisco would've thrown something at him by now if he'd been in the lab, but he's not, so he keeps doing it anyway.

 

Barry knows something is happening, going to happen. He just knows it.

 

He ends up heading to Iron Heights, where his dad’s still stuck for another couple weeks. (The wheels of justice don't move as fast as the scales, Barry thinks.)

 

And his dad seems to enjoy the stories he shares with him about Nora and Michael, and even though he doesn’t outright ask him, Barry knows he’s picked up on his unease. He asks about Len and for once doesn’t say any comments about Barry being able to do better.

 

He leaves feeling a little better than before, but it still doesn’t feel _right_. He still thinks--knows--something is going to happen. Len texts him while he’s on the way back, not speeding along as fast as usual, to tell him he was headed out grocery shopping with Michael.

 

His phone rings when he’s just getting home to a now empty apartment, the number calling unfamiliar. Nora had permission to stay overnight with Lisa if she’d wanted, but even if she was calling to say she was coming home early, her number and Lisa’s were both in his contacts list and he’d memorized them anyway. He’s not _expecting_ anything, or anyone to call, and even if he had been, he would have recognized the number, right?

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi,” a woman’s voice says, “is this Nora’s dad?”

 

The sense of foreboding he’s been feeling all day suddenly hits him hard, and he almost drops the phone.

 

“Yes, this is. Who is this?”

 

“My name is Shawna,” the woman says, and Barry immediately recognizes her voice-- _Peek-a-boo--_ but she continues speaking before Barry can even begin to respond, “Look, Lisa called me and she was saying some really odd things, but I’ve got your daughter here with me and she’s totally freaked out. Can you come get her, or is there somewhere I can bring her for you?”

 

“You’ve got Nora? _Where are you?_ ” Barry asks, and he’s halfway back out the door before he even thinks about leaving to get her.

 

“... _Flash?_ ” Shawna says, sounding so utterly and totally surprised that Barry _almost_ stops.

 

“Where are you?” Barry repeats, louder. He knows he’s starting to panic, and it’s not just Nora he’s worried about anymore. Lisa knows so many other people she could have gotten to pick up Nora, he doesn’t understand why she called _Shawna Baez._

 

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Shawna is quick to say before rattling off the address, “We’ll meet you outside.”

 

-x-

 

Shawna Baez has an arm over Nora’s shoulder when Barry reaches them, Nora leaning into her for support. His daughter’s face is wet, her eyes red from crying. She looks afraid, the most afraid he’s ever seen her.

 

“Daddy!” Nora yells, breaking away from Peek-a-boo to wrap her arms tightly around him and bury her face into his chest.

 

“Nora, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay,” Barry whispers into her hair, kissing the top of her head.

 

“What happened?” Barry asks Shawna, looking up from Nora.

 

“I don’t know. Lisa called me and asked me to pick Nora up. I never even heard of her, but I went to Lisa’s anyway to rag on her about calling me like that. Your little girl just opened the door and clung to me, calling me mom before I even got a word in.”

 

Shawna’s words only serve to confuse him further, worry him more.

 

“Lisa was so scared, Daddy. The bad man grabbed her arm and she looked so scared.” Nora whispers, and Barry can feel her shaking against him.

 

“Bad man?” Barry asks her.

 

“There was an old man in her apartment. Gave me the creeps. Nora said he took their cell phones. Lisa didn’t say shit without his approval. I ain’t ever seen that woman look to a man to tell her what to do before.”

 

“Shit,” Barry says, because he doesn’t have a clue what’s got Lisa so spooked, why the guy has such a hold on her, “Did you call Len?”

 

“Her brother? No, I just called you. That’s the first thing I did once we were far enough away.”

 

“I want Papa Len,” Nora blurts, and Barry really doesn’t blame her. He wants Len now too.

 

“We’ll call him soon, okay, Nor?” Barry asks, because he needs a minute to figure out how the hell he’s going to tell Len that something’s going on with Lisa. He knows he needs to call him soon, but he can’t just throw, ‘Hey Len,  your sister left my daughter with a stranger because she was totally freaked out and I have no idea why?’ out there.

 

“The bag! Lisa told me to take the bag, it’s really heavy,” Nora said suddenly, looking around.

 

“She said it was Nora’s school bag, I think,” Shawna added, and she’s handing him a yellow backpack and moving out of easy reach before he’s even got a good grip on it.

 

Nora backs off enough to give him room to maneuver, though she keeps at least one hand on him at all times.

 

He unzips the bag curiously, and his stomach immediately drops again when he pulls out what’s inside.

 

_The Gold Gun_.

 

He’s dialing Len’s number a few seconds later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to take a moment point out the irony of this chapter's song title as the next chapter is in Len's perspective.
> 
> Also, please note that the next chapter might not be coming as quickly as today's have. I'll post them as soon as I get then finished, but I can't promise as to _when_ that will be.  <3


	4. Len I, we don't eat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Theme Song: [We Don’t Eat ]()\- James Vincent McMorrow
> 
> ([This cover is also amazing, FYI.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY3XhvOHQHE))
> 
> ♥ ♥ HUGE, HUGE THANK YOU to [LiselleVelvet](http://lisellevelvet.tumblr.com) for the song rec that was an instant choice as this chapter's theme.♥ ♥
> 
> And also, thank you to [Jamie](http://dragdragdragon.tumblr.com) for looking the chapter over when I started contemplating rewriting it for the eighth time, and also [Kelsey](http://that-pumpkinspicewhitegirl.tumblr.com) and Jamie both for cheerleading and listening to spoilers I needed to talk through, kthnx. ♥ ♥

It’s the kind of lazy day that they haven’t been able to get in a while. They sleep in, all four of them. Lisa picks up Nora just after ten, and Barry dances around the kitchen with a happily babbling Michael as Len makes them a late lunch. It’s easy, domestic.

 

It’s things that Len’s never really had before. He’d tried, when he’d been taking care of Lisa, but he’d still been a kid then.

 

This, this _family_ , he’s building with Barry, with Nora and Michael? It’s _good_ in ways that he never expected. Good in ways that mean he can never regret the choices that brought them to it.

 

(And sometimes, he prays to whatever power brought Michael to him his everlasting thanks.)

 

The longer they’re together, the more Len realizes they’re changing. Him and Barry, yes. But all of them.

 

Lisa shows up without calling just to throw herself on the couch for no reason at all--and it isn't that Lisa hadn't shown up unannounced in the years prior, because she had. But before, it had mostly been when she needed something, because they were working a job, because she was bored. Or perhaps more accurately, before she had felt like she required a reason to visit and just be around him, and now she knew she was always welcome regardless of why.

 

He’s spent more time with Mick the Father than he ever did with Mick the Hardened Criminal now. He’s seen Sera smile and Haydn laugh. He felt a rush of happiness for Iris and Thawne when she announced her pregnancy. He’s traded puns with Ramon while picking up Nora.

 

The more time he spends with his new family, the more he wants to. He really never expected something like this to happen, especially after so long.

 

He shares a few lazy kisses with Barry after lunch, and settles down with Michael on the couch. And he falls asleep like that, content and warm and happy.

 

-x-

 

When he wakes up a while later, Barry’s left to visit his dad and Michael needs a change. He swaddles his son in a new Flash-themed outfit and red jacket, locks up and heads to the grocery store to pick up a few things while Michael’s still behaving.

 

The thing is, he’s happy to do it. He’s content to push Michael around in the cart with the baby babbling incoherently at him. He’s happy to make faces to hear that little giggle as he searches for the yoghurt that Nora prefers.

 

He’s spent the entire day finally feeling totally content with every aspect of his life, which is why he _doesn’t_ expect the call while he’s checking out.

 

“Bare, what’s--”

 

“ _Len,”_ Barry says, and it’s in the same tone that he had when he called that day Nora was being held captive by the plant-chick, the tone of voice he got when Mardon had Nora.

 

It’s the sound that means _I need you_ and _Nora needs you_ and _something is wrong._

 

“What happened? Is Nora okay?”

 

The cashier drops the bottle of olive oil she’d been scanning in surprise, the glass shattering on the floor.

 

“ _Nora’s okay, Baez kept her safe until I got here_.”

 

“Shawna? What the hell is going--”

 

“ _It’s Lisa, Len. Nora said your dad has her.”_

 

Len’s pulled Michael out of the cart and made it halfway out the automatic doors before he even realizes he's moved.

 

-x-

 

Len almost crashes into Detective West’s car as he whips his own in front of the house. His hands are shaking, and Michael keeps crying. He's afraid.

 

He's afraid of what his father is doing to Lisa, afraid of what he might have done to Nora.

 

And he's afraid of what he might do to Michael.

 

He pounds on the door, all coiled tension and fear. He knows he probably looks insane, and when he meets Thawne’s eyes as the man opens the door, he knows he _does_.

 

“I need someone to watch Michael,” he says quickly, “Lisa’s in trouble and Nora--”

 

Thawne snatches Michael right out of his arms, “We got him, go.”

 

“Thank you, Detective,” Len manages, and he’s gone before Thawne’s even made it all the way back inside.

 

-x-

 

He’s almost to Lisa’s when his phone rings, her name scrawled across the screen. Len answers without hesitation, but doesn’t speak.

 

His father’s the one on the other side of the phone, as he’d anticipated. He doesn’t bother starting a conversation, just rattles off an address before the call ends.

 

 _“Fuck,”_ Len says in the stillness of his car, and then he yanks the steering wheel around, cutting off a minivan.

 

-x-

 

It’s a warehouse, one of those stereotypically empty ones full of dark corners and the smell of mildew and rust.

 

He finds Lisa within a few minutes, tied to a chair and unconscious. He doesn’t know what their father has done, what he still plans to do. But he knows this isn’t about Lisa, whatever it is. It’s about securing Len’s assistance/

 

“Son, I have a job for you.”

 

He’s not at all surprised.

 

-x-

 

“Lenny, you don’t have to do this,” Lisa whispers to him, her fingers wrapped tightly around his arm.

 

“I want to,” Len lies, and he can see the moment she gets it, the way her eyes go wide for just a second.

 

_I need to._

 

“Thank you,” she says softly.

 

-x-

 

It takes everything in him to stand there and listen to the man, everything in him to be still and quiet as Lewis tells him about the thermites and Lisa.

 

It takes everything in him to not react.

 

Inside he is boiling, angry, sick.

 

Len doesn’t have to think about it. He will play Lewis’s game to the bitter fucking end, but when it’s done? When it’s done, he’s doing whatever he needs to do to protect his family--the one he’s carved out of his ghosts and built up from crumbling ruins, not the one he was born of--and burning the devil out of his life, once and for all.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so, question, loves!
> 
> Who's point of view would you like next? ♥


	5. Sera, breathe me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Theme Song: [Breathe Me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFGvmrJ5rjM) \- Sia
> 
>  
> 
> This was originally supposed to be in Francine's point of view (thanks, [Kelsey!](http://that-pumpkinspicewhitegirl.tumblr.com)) but her chapter kindaaaaa went off the path, so I'll be posting it as a one-shot as soon as it's finished.
> 
> Huge thank you to [Jamie](http://dragdragdragon.tumblr.com) for looking over this chapter. <3

When Sera was little, she used to pretend her mother was a secret agent. She used to pretend that her mom loved her but Sera was too little to join her on missions so she had to stay home with Da, who loved her too much to let her get hurt.

 

When Sera was little, she thought her mother was her hero.

 

When Sera was little, she was wrong.

 

Sera's real hero was her Da. He was the one who fed her, bathed her, bought her clothes. He was the one that read to her, kissed her forehead, took care of her when she was sick.

 

She knew he was a criminal, that her birthday presents were bought with money he got from things he stole, that he did bad things for people who didn't care one lick about her.

 

Her Da might not have started being a criminal because of her, but she knew he kept doing bad things to take care of her.

 

She hadn't always known but she knew now. Da never lied to her, especially after he came home covered in angry burns, apologizing to her for not making it back sooner.

 

That was the moment she knew that Da was the one who loved her most, not her mom.

 

A few months later, her mom showed up with a tiny little baby, said "it's yours," and left them again.

 

They didn't have a name for her. Haydn was so little, so quiet. Sera ran down to the market and bought six different kinds of formula but the baby wouldn't eat. She wouldn't cry. Her Da cried and Sera cried but Haydn hadn't done anything. They ended up in the emergency room, Sera in her pajamas and her Da in a t-shirt speckled with blood Haydn had coughed up on him.

 

They almost lost her, and Sera doesn't think her mother ever knew.

 

"I promise, Seraph," her Da said that night, "I'm not going to let her hurt us again."

 

And for two years, Sera never did see her mom.

 

Her Da found a job as a mechanic after that.  He worked long and hard, and Sera did what she needed to in order to look after her baby sister.

 

She knew he still did jobs sometimes, mostly with her Uncle Lenny. Every once in awhile, Lenny would come over and watch them too. And then Sera met Nora, and Barry and Iris and Caitlin and Lisa, and she got a family. If she ever had a sister, she likes to think she'd be just like Iris. She thinks Caitlin would have made a good mom, and that Lisa was a great aunt.

 

Her Da might have been a criminal, might be a bad man sometimes. But being Heatwave brought them a family that they needed. Sera didn't have to worry anymore.

 

So, two weeks after Thanksgiving, she picks up her cell phone in deliberate view of her mother and dials the emergency speed dial her Da helped her set up and keeps her sister tightly pressed against her side.

 

"West," the man on the other side says, and Sera's heart is racing.

 

"Sir," she says, because she doesn't know what to call him, "This is Sera, Sera Rory? My da's at work and my mom showed up. She's tryin' ta take my sister."

 

"What's your address, Sera," Detective West asks, and something about his voice calms her, "I'll be right there."

 

She rattles off her address, stares defiantly at her mother, and waits.

 

"I'm going to stay on the line, okay?"

 

"Thank you, sir," she says politely.

 

"Sera, who did you call? So help me--"

 

"I called the police, Cece," Sera says, backing up a step when her mother steps forward.

 

"You're my kid, and so is she. Your father said I could take you on a trip."

 

"No, he didn't! Da would never let us go anywhere with you!"

 

She's still screaming at her mother when Detective West and Iris's fiancée Eddie storm into the house.

 

"Sera, are you and Haydn okay?" Detective West asks her, stepping between them.

 

"Can you make her leave, Uncle Joe?" Sera says, and she likes the way he smiles a little at the name.

 

"Joe," Eddie says, and Sera doesn't know why he sounds like that but she doesn't like it.

 

Joe looks away from them, at her mom.

 

" _Francine_?"

 

Sera knows that name. She knows that name, but this can't be happening. It's not happening, right?

 

"J--" her mom starts, but Joe cuts her off.

 

"No, Iris already gave you a chance you didn't deserve. Sera, go pack a bag for you and your sister. We'll stop and let your dad know you're staying with us. Iris has Nora and Michael at home."

 

-x-

 

Eddie straps Hadyn into the car seat Sera got out of the front closet, and Sera slides in next to her. She can still hear them yelling at each other inside, but she can't tell what the words are. She doesn't think she wants to know.

 

Iris told her before, about her mom abandoning her. Choosing to leave her behind. She told her how she didn't have many memories of her but she missed her all the time. That it was okay to miss her mom even though she hurt her.

 

Iris had made sure she never felt alone, abandoned.

 

And maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised. The chances were astronomical--Sera could probably figure it out if she wanted but...

 

"Eddie... Was that Iris's mom too?" Sera asks when Eddie settles back into passenger seat of the car.

 

"Sera..."

 

"It's okay, Eddie. I... can handle it."

 

"You shouldn't have to worry about that, Sera."

 

"This means we're family for real, right?"

 

-x-

 

Haydn's fallen asleep by the time Joe comes out of the house. Her mom storms off just behind him, and once she's in her car, Sera finally relaxes.

 

Joe drives them to her Da's shop and comes in with her to talk to him. She feels like a little kid when she sees him, starts crying before she can even say anything. Da just holds her close and pets her hair, and listens to Joe tell him about Cece, about Francine.

 

About her mom and Iris's mom and her Da says thank you in that way he gets when he's emotional. When the words sound like they're coming from underwater and Da's about to drown.

 

"We've got a situation with Lewis Snart so--"

 

"He's back?" Her Da growls and that sound is out of his voice and he sounds like raging fire and anger and Sera doesn't like the sound.

 

She doesn't know what's happening but it's like everything is about to explode.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to let everyone know that I don't know how frequent updates will be over the next week. What would have been my daughter's first birthday is on Friday, so I don't know how much I'll be able to manage. I'm taking it day by day.
> 
> Thank you for reading, you're all amazing and I love to see your comments both here and on [tumblr.](http://writerdragonfly.tumblr.com)


	6. Mick, explosions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. 
> 
> Like with Realignment, this fic was not intentionally left without an update for four months. It would be fair to say things haven't been the easiest for me. But! I've attacked this fic with renewed vigor, so I hope to be able to finish it on a much quicker timeline. 
> 
> This chapter is, I suppose, lighter and perhaps fluffier than the rest? But it will probably be the last happier chapter for a short bit in this arc. 
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> Chapter Theme Song: [Explosions ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJLo6NUXQiE)\- Ellie Goulding (Cover by Jasmine Thompson)

He’s never really had this, someone on the other end of a phone who would answer no matter what, just to talk or babble for a few minutes. A few words on a screen that meant nothing and meant _everything_ all at once. Never really had an anchor outside the girls, someone who was more than a friend.

 

Except Len, but Len was his brother in all the ways that mattered, and not _this_. Especially now, since he found an anchor of his own, a _family_ that wasn’t marked and marred by the turbulent chaos that Lewis Snart wrecked with the grace of being _himself_ and nothing more. (And that didn’t mean that he found Lisa as _less_ , because there was no way to describe her as anything other than _more_.)

 

Even when he and Cece had been _together_ together, all those years ago, she had never been someone he could rely on like that. Someone who made him feel like he could even be more than the man he thought he’d never even manage to be good enough to be.

 

Nothing about Cece or his other girlfriends had ever made him feel like there was something that, no matter what, he might be doing _right_.

 

He knows that it’s not all her. That a year, two years, three years ago... he never would have been able to _make_ this kind of relationship. Even with the steadying presence of Sera and Haydn, he had spent years avoiding the kind of commitment that reminded him of his foster parents.

 

Not because they had been _bad_ together, but because he had never been able to picture himself totally and utterly trusting to someone else that way. Offering all he was as tribute, sacrifice, and believing that it was worth it.

 

He’d made a deal with Sera, when they were waiting to hear what was happening with the tiny little baby that would be named Hadyn, that if she lived, he would do whatever it took to make sure they would never be alone, that _this_ would never happen again.

 

Part of that was knowing when he _wasn’t_ enough. He’d gone to therapy a few times and Sera still went, even though it wasn’t for him. He remembered what the therapist had told him though. That it sometimes wasn’t about _giving_ _up_ something for someone, but _sharing_ something more.

 

He’d never felt like he could do that before, share something more.

 

Except, then there was Dr. Snow, her red rimmed eyes and shy, hesitant smile. There was a quiet burn within her, like dry ice and frosted glass.

 

The kind that spoke to the roaring within his head, that said, _someone understands_ , and _she’d never ask for more than I could give_ , and _calm._

 

Mick has never had someone who wanted him for more than his body or his skills, but for _him._

 

And there were parts of Caitlin that almost seemed built for him and the girls. Like someone stuck their hands in the guts of their lives and tied them together.

 

Mick has never had something he wanted this much before, outside Sera and Haydn, and he thinks he should be afraid of it.

 

But maybe because they weren't an instant thing, maybe because they came together slowly instead of falling into bed five minutes after they met... He had time to acclimate himself to _them_ instead of him and her.

 

So Mick is smiling down at the screen of his cell phone, Caitlin’s two word text leaving a warm pool in his chest, when Sera and Detective West come inside, and everything... stops.

 

-x-

 

 

Sera is crying, Sera is crying, huge gulping sobs that shake her entire body.

 

“--mother was trying to take the baby--”

 

“You stopped her, right? Where's Haydn?”

 

Mick asks, and the Detective puts a loose, affirming hand on his arm to calm him before releasing his grip.

 

“She's in the car with Eddie,” Detective West reassures him, “she's okay. But there's something else...”

 

-x-

 

He'd known that Sera wasn't Cece’s first child. She'd been too... _knowing_... when she went into labor with Sera. He confronted her once, and she laughed it off.

 

He hadn't asked any further. What was the point?

 

He hadn't expected... _this_.

 

Cece-- _Francine_ \--had a family once. She had a man who had been devoted her, who had a job that afforded her stability, and who would do so much for her children.

 

She had a _family_ and she gave it up. For what? A drug habit and a serious mental disorder, a string of debt and children who hardly recognized her. Sera had spent more time with her therapist than her mother.

 

Caitlyn kept losing everything and Francine kept walking away from it and he can't help but compare them and wonder how he had ever wanted to stay with her.

 

He can't help but be thankful, for once, that Francine had left him.

 

“Know any good lawyers?” Mick asks, and Detective West’s mouth twitches into a faint little smile.

 

“I think I can help with that.”

 

“ _Thank you,”_ Mick says. Because this is a cop; this is a cop who he's hated, who hated him... and he's _helping_.

 

Mick isn't used to being forgiven.

 

“We've got a situation with Lewis Snart, so--”

 

“He's back?” Mick demands, everything in him suddenly wire-tense.

 

“He has Lisa. Len and Barry were going after him, going to get her back. I'm not even sure that Len knows Barry is going too.”

 

“Snart wouldn't want the kid anywhere near his father, he doesn't even want Lisa anywhere near his father,” Mick says, his mind whirring.

 

“Lisa had Nora with her when he showed up, Rory.”

 

“Mick.”

 

“What?”

 

“We’re family, West. And family calls me Mick. Where was Len headed?”

 

“He barely stopped before dropping Michael off with us. Barry brought Nora over not long after that but he didn't say where he was headed either.”

 

“And you didn't stop him?”

 

“Even before he was the Flash there wasn't anything that would stop Barry from--”

 

“ _Allen’s the Flash_?”

 

-x-

 

“Be good for West. Okay, Seraph? I'll come home as soon as my shift is done. Look after your sister.”

 

“I will, Da. I promise. I didn't let her take Hadyn.”

 

“I know, I'm proud of you. I love you both,” Mick says, squeezing Haydn’s hand through the window.

 

“Love Daddy!” Haydn responds, Sera following suit.

 

“Take care of my girls, West,” Mick says to the cop, ignoring Thawne entirely.

 

“It's Joe,” West says, “and I will, Mick.”

 

-x-

 

After the car leaves, his daughters in the backseat and _two cops in the front_ , Mick closes his eyes and takes a long, deep breath.

 

He heads back inside, one hand already on his phone again.

 

“Caitlin Snow,” her voice comes through the phone, and he knows he can make it until closing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. 
> 
> So, one thing not covered in the previous that I thought might come up in the comments. 
> 
> Q.) Why the hell was Mick so calm?
> 
> A.) He wasn't. The way I see it, in an ideal situation, Mick would be flipping his shit here. His daughters were threatened, he's got a cop who arrested him telling him their kids share a mother, and Lewis Snart is wrecking havoc within his family. 
> 
> But Mick's priority has to be his girls. He can't react like he wants to because putting his job at risk by flipping out or starting the building on fire could adversely affect his kids. Not only monetarily, but if Francine continued to pursue her desire to have them.
> 
> Comments and questions welcome and encouraged!
> 
> Up next is Lisa.


	7. Lisa, Hero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am not entirely happy with this one. But, here you are anyway.
> 
> Chapter Theme Song: [Hero -](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etp8L9pbqeM) Chad Kroger/Nickelback

When she was a child, Lisa knew two things. Two things that were more important than anything else in the world, more true than anything she learned in school.

 

One: Lewis Snart was _not_ a good man, let alone a good father. Two: Len was the most important person in her life, bar none.

 

The thing is, despite decades and countless arguments and a great deal of pain, that hasn’t changed. Lewis Snart is evil incarnate, and Len is _still_ the most important person to her.

 

But he wasn’t the _only_ one anymore. Because of Len, because of a twelve year old girl, she had _more_. She had more in her life than she’d ever had before. She had _family_ , and before, she only had _Len_.

 

Nora was the lynch pin in their family, the person they gravitated around. Nora and Michael were the most important people in Len’s life, more important that she was. She didn’t _regret_ that, couldn’t regret it.

 

She knows that it’s the way things are, the way things are supposed to be. Parents are supposed to put their kids first.

 

Lewis never had. They had always been _tools_ to him. Even Len, who was more human to their father than she had been, had never been anything more than that.

 

It doesn’t surprise her that he’s back, that he’s strung her body up with fucking bombs so he can force Len to do whatever bidding he wants.

 

It doesn’t surprise her, because that’s who he’s always been.

 

But it terrifies her. It terrifies her so much more as an adult that it ever had when she was a child because she knew--she knew without a doubt in the fucking world--that _it wasn’t supposed to be like_ **_this_**.

 

Len would give the world for Nora, who wasn’t biologically his, would raze the world for Michael, who only technically was, and would do anything for her.

 

“Lenny,” she says, fear choking her until she can barely manage to say a thing at all, “you don’t have to do this.”

 

He meets her eyes, keeps her gaze for a long time, and says softly, “I want to.”

 

It’s a lie. It’s a lie and they both know it. He doesn’t want to touch the periphery of Lewis Snart in any way, shape or form.

 

But he will. He will, and he won’t even regret it. He couldn’t, because he would do _anything_ for her. Family.

 

_Family_.

 

“Thank you.”

 

-x-

 

She throws up on the concrete a few blocks away, mostly dry hacking heaves that make it hard to breathe. Panic builds in her chest in the moments afterward, dark fear that leaves her hands shaking and her chest tight and she _knows_. She knows it’s stupid, knows that it’s not _safe_ to panic here either.

 

But she can’t help it.

 

-x-

 

Lisa doesn’t know how much time has passed by the time she gets far enough away to remotely start feeling safe, just that it’s the middle of the night and she doesn’t know what to do.

 

Except she does, doesn’t she?

 

Cisco. Cisco can fix this, can’t he? The kid is probably already going spare because of Nora, was certainly the one who put Len on alert. Barry will be there for Len, that she has no doubt.

 

But Cisco. Cisco’s a genius. Cisco’s a genius and she doesn’t need excuses to see him anymore.

 

And, well, she _likes_ him.

 

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and counts.

 

When she opens them, she’s composed. She’s ready.

 

When she starts walking again, it’s with purpose.

 

She’s never had a family before, other than Lenny. And now Lenny is in the lion’s den with the rabid beast, and she’ll be damned if she lets her fear control her for another minute.

 

When she reaches a phone booth--something rare anymore--she knows exactly what she’s going to do.

 

“Cisco?”

 

“Lisa? Where are you--never mind I’ll trace the call, are you okay?”

 

She thinks about lying, about putting on the same brave face that she always has.

 

She thinks about it, but she doesn’t do it.

 

“I will be.”

 

And it’s true.

 

-x-

 

Cisco wraps her in a tight hug the moment he sees her, holds her until she finally makes herself relax into it.

 

“I have to get back to the labs in case they need me. Do you want to come with me or should I drop you off with the kids?”

 

“I... I need to come with you. There’s... there’s something I need you to do,” Lisa admits, shuddering a little unconsciously.

 

“Yeah, anything, Lise, anything you need me for.”

 

“I really like you,” she blurts out pressing her face into his shoulder and holding it there for a moment, “I just thought you needed to know that.”

 

“Of--of course, Lisa. You... I really like you, too,” Cisco replies, and she kisses him then, a light press of her lips on his. He blinks at her when she pulls away, his eyes wide and surprised (and _pleased)_.

 

“Where’s Nora? I need to see her first. Shawna brought her home, right?” Lisa asks, and Cisco nods.

 

“Yeah, she did. Nora’s with Iris and Michael at Joe’s. Joe got a call from Sera, something about her mom so Joe and Eddie went to check it out. We can stop, see her.”

 

“Thank you,” Lisa says, wrapping her fingers around his and squeezing, “thank you, Cisco.”

“Any time, Lise. I mean that.”

 

“I know,” she says, a little breathless.

 

And she does.

 

-x-

 

Nora bursts out of the house as soon as Lisa gets out of the car, throws her entire body into her and Lisa barely manages to stay standing.

 

“I was so worried,” Nora cries into Lisa’s arms, her body shaking with it.

 

Lisa holds her tightly, kisses the top of her head.

 

“I love you, Nora,” Lisa tells her, because she does and she wants--needs--Nora to know that.

  
“I love you, too,” the girl says in return, and Lisa _finally_ relaxes.


	8. Iris II: First Snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Theme: [First Snow ](http://youtu.be/IYfdY4Sl-EQ)\- Clint Mansell
> 
> I bet you weren't expecting this update. I cannot believe how long it's been.

Michael falls asleep easily, completely unaware of his father’s panic and the growing severity of the situation. It’s relieving, given how Nora is still wired up like she’s about ready to scream.

 

She sits with him for a good twenty minutes after he falls asleep, content with listening to his steady breathing. 

 

Nora is lying on the floor in front of the fireplace with a book open, lazily reading. She finally looks like she might finally be relaxing when it happens.

 

The thing is, Iris doesn’t see it coming. She doesn’t even hear them enter, doesn’t see them until it’s too late.

 

She blacks out from the blow, and by the time she comes to--minutes later at most--Nora is gone.

 

Nora is  _ gone _ .

 

She’s racing up the stairs, nearly crashing and falling more than once from the vertigo, one hand dialing her father’s number, before she even thinks about moving.

 

“Hey Iris, we’ll be there in five--”

 

_ “Someone took Nora!” _ She interrupts him just as she reaches Michael’s crib. The baby wakes from the volume of her exclamation, but his cries are somehow a relief.

 

“We’re on the way, are you okay?” her father asks, his voice already in overprotective father cop mode.

 

_ I’m fine _ , she tries to say, but the words won’t come out. She feels dizzy and her head hurts, and when she lifts her free hand from calming Michael to touch the back of her head, her hand feels slick with blood.

 

“Iris?” her father is saying, but she’s light-headed and there’s blood on her hand and  _ Nora is gone _ and... “Iris, baby, breathe with me, okay?”

 

She’s been in life threatening situations before, been afraid for her life and Barry’s life and her dad’s life--but this, this feels different.

 

A wave of nausea hits her, and she vomits in the diaper bin next to the crib, and it hits her that she’s terrified. She’s scared of losing her niece and scared they’ll come back for Michael and scared for the tiny little life inside her stomach.

 

“I’m okay, Dad,” she forces herself to say and it’s mostly a lie but if she believes it hard enough, it might almost feel true,  “but hurry.”

 

-x-

 

When her father arrives, it takes several minutes for her to convince him that she’d rather see Caitlin first. Eddie agrees with her, and ultimately the decision is made. 

 

The problem of  _ who _ is driving her is more difficult. Her father and Eddie both want to stay, to see if there’s any evidence that can lead them to who, exactly, took Nora. Iris, however, can barely walk without vertigo, let alone drive herself halfway across town.

 

“I can drive her,” Sera interrupts them, “I can take Haydn and Michael with me, too. I don’t like driving much, but Da made me get my license just in case.”

 

Her father hesitates, but he doesn’t have an argument, not really. Iris doesn’t let him argue anyway.

 

“Before you go, there’s something you need to know,” her father says as Eddie wraps her in a tight, reassuring hug.

 

“Please don’t tell me someone died,” she blurts out, but her father is quick to shake his head.

 

“We’re sisters,” Sera says before her father or Eddie can say anything at all.

 

“You and Haydn? I knew that,” Iris says, placatingly.

 

“Iris,” her father says, “they’re your sisters too.”

 

-x-

 

There’s a part of Iris, a part she kept trying to bury deeper and deeper, that still loved her mother with the ferocity of a small child. She struggles, struggles so much, to keep a hold of that part when faced with the reality that her mother might have been a good mother once, but that had been a long time ago.

 

She doesn’t know why she didn’t see it coming, knowing what she did about her mother’s past and about Sera’s childhood. Maybe because it was too ridiculous, to think that their lives could come together like that. Her life wasn’t a comic book--except, sometimes, it kind of was. 

 

Knowing, now, what she knows, Iris can see the similarities between Sera and herself. She can see something, the shape of her face, maybe, that mirrors her own. 

 

Hearing what her mother--what  _ Cece _ , her mind provides, because she doesn’t deserve the tag of mother--what Cece had tried to do, because Iris put herself and the baby first sits in her stomach like stone. She doesn’t blame herself, couldn’t even if she wanted to, because whatever happened to Cece, it wasn’t Iris’ fault. Iris was a  _ kid _ , and Cece had been going down the wrong road for a long time.

 

“So,” Iris says, swallowing down a short cry, “sisters.” 

 

Sera smiles a little, though she doesn’t look away from her eagle eye gaze on the road, “Sisters.”

 

-x-

 

Caitlin meets them outside, a wheelchair at her feet. Her face is impassive, a mask of professionalism that Iris hasn’t had cause to see in some time. 

 

“Sit down,” she demands, and Iris is quick to comply given how unsteady she still feels. 

 

“I’ll take Michael,” Sera says, already pulling out his car seat, the little boy asleep inside. Iris doesn’t miss the little flinch in Caitlin’s face, and wonders why it’s there. 

 

Haydn climbs on Iris’ lap without prompting, the little girl a surprisingly warm buffer against the cold, winter wind. 

 

Inside the infirmary, Iris immediately zeroes in on Lisa, hooked up to a bevy of machines. The other woman appeared to be asleep, white bandages wrapped around the length of her throat and neck.

 

“She’s going to be fine,” Caitlin says, and Iris wishes she could relax at that but she can’t.

 

Nora is still gone and the baby,  _ oh god the baby. _

 

“The baby!” Iris shouts, panic building by the second, “is my baby okay?”

 

Caitlin stiffens at that but gets to work, her mouth a thin, even line across her face.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [a mother, an illness, and never letting go](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6103126) by [writerdragonfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writerdragonfly/pseuds/writerdragonfly)




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